Song of Truth and Light
by TheSocialBookWorm
Summary: They were so rare. Humans feared their power, they were hunted and either killed or forced into slavery. There were auction houses. So Tsunayoshi Sawada hid. He was 'stupid,' he had 'no athletic talent,' he had 'no social skills,' he was no good. There was no way Dame-Tsuna was one. Demigod. Halfling. Godling. It was just so hard to hide that when Tsuna couldn't tell a Lie.
1. Chapter 1

AN- Me: Soooo, another idea eh? *Glares at muse kitty*

Muse kitty: Meow

Me: What do you mean this one wasn't you? The only other way it could have happened then...

*High pitched laughter*

Me: Oh no. (And the first chapter is so short too!)

ADOPTED from wolfsrainrules! Please check out their awesome writing

Disclaimer: I don't own Reborn.

Chapter 1

For as long as he could remember, of his all of four years of life, Tsuna's mom kept a small shrine to Apollo in a back room. Tsuan had always thought that it was weird because her shrine to Hestia was settled right next to the hearth like it should be. They weren't the only ones in Namimori who didn't follow the Shinto that was the majority in Japan; it wasn't strange since there were multiple sightings of gods from across all religions.

It was how Godlings came about after all.

Nana told Tsuna that it was because there was a certain idea of those who worshiped the God of Light, the Truth Speaker, and she didn't want him associated with that idea. Tsuna blinked up at her and asked why she was lying to him.

He watched as her eyes flickered from his skin, which shone slightly even in the brightly lit room, to his already fluffy hair that swayed from a standstill, to the shadow that seemed to stretch the longer someone stared at it. His young mind was already sharp, matching the grace with which he walked.

He just wanted to know what frightened his mom.

So he reached out to the warmth inside his center, so focused on it that he missed the way the room lit up and Nana paled. He tugged at it, pulling that warmth closer, and his normally brown eyes faded into a stormy blue.

He frowned at the rush of information that he could pick up.

"You wish to keep me safe," he said, his voice a paradox of loud and quiet, powerful but quiet. "But safe from what? And why? I- I can not See why."

The warmth slipped from his grasp, and Tsuna staggered, his eyes dropping. Nana hurried forward to catch her young child as he fell, and Tsuna snuggled into her warmth. She held him tightly, as if her small child would vanish as quickly as the light had.

"Mama?" Tsuna muttered sleepily, "I don't feel so good."

His head lolled to the side, as Nana carried him up to his room. Everything was too bright and loud, and Tsuna tried to pull the blanket over his head, but something kept him from doing so. A cool hand pressed to his forehead, and he leaned into it before it was gone all too quickly.

The world spun too fast, and Tsuna wasn't sure how long he lay there, blinking lethargically, and wondering why his body hurt so bad. It got worse, steadily making the small four year old cry.

Then there was a presence next to him, something so warm and familiar, but unknown to him at the same time. As if he had walked into a heated room after rolling around in the snow, like a hug from his mother, like a brand new blanket from the store that he could wrap himself up in. A hand rested on Tsuna's forehead, warm and soft, but at the same time cool and callused.

"Rest easy My Child," a voice said, and it was the softest song on the breeze, the most powerful ballad sung through the air. "I know what you have done, and Seen that it is not time for you to join me in the great halls yet. You have much to do. You are one that shall change the world."

A spoon was pressed to Tsuna's lips, and Tsuna weakly opened his mouth, closing it around whatever was on the spoon, and instantly his aches and pains began to fade. As it mixture slid down his throat, the constant heat left, and as his body began to digest it, his thoughts cleared.

He blinked up at the tall, muscled man with sandy blonde hair and stormy blue eyes who smiled down at him.

"Greetings My Child," Apollo said, the light bending around his form to make it shine even brighter to show his glory. "I See that there is much we must talk about."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N- Me: *On the ground with Byakuran sitting on top of me* I hate you so much

ByakuranMuse: *Laughs* That's impossible

Me: You're obstructing my work like this

ByakuranMuse: Now I wouldn't-

HibariMuse: You're crowding. I'll bite you to death.

Me: You weren't even close to being this bad, why did you bring these two home again?  
Muse Kitty: Meow

Me: *Glares* Fine. (At least this chapter is longer than the last. This should be the normal length.)

Disclaimer- I don't own Reborn

Chapter 2

Tsuna stared up at the god, confusion swimming through his brain. Some part of him just knew that the man in front of him was Apollo, that the god was his Father. But why would the god come and save him? They were infamous for staying out of mortal affairs and letting fate take it's course. Afterall, their interference was what had caused the world to almost fall into chaos centuries ago.

Apollo held his hands out, and Tsuna took them, snuggling close to the warm body as Apollo picked the small child up.

"Come, this is not a conversation for listening ears," the god said as the world wavered and shifted before Tsuna's eyes. The child's eyes widened and he glanced around at the mirage like pictures that rushed by. Scenes from earlier in his life flashed by, and if he looked close enough scenes from what seemed to be the future were glanced as well. He thought he saw himself standing in the middle of a large group before the strange visions ended.

The god set his feet down on tall, swaying grass in front of a pure white building. The pillars that held it up were as wide as Tsuna was, and as he craned his head to get a good look at everything else, all he could see was a meadow stretching as far as the eye could see that ended in white fluffy cloud.

"You have not the ability to witness Olympus in all it's glory yet My Child," Apollo said, amusement curling his lips upward. "You will one day, and one day you will have earned your place among these great halls as have other heroes of old, and dine with me every night. But for now, it suffices that you can see the hall that is my own."

Now that the god had mentioned it, Tsuna's eyes caught on the golden harp etched into the middle of the entrance of the hall that was most commonly associated with Apollo. His eyes stayed locked onto that symbol for as long as possible as the god stepped forward into his own halls, plunging the two of them into darkness as he crossed the threshold before Tsuna had to squint his eyes to see through the sudden blinding light.

He blinked several times, and was disappointed to see that the entrance looked almost identical to his house.

Apollo chuckled and stepped over the shoes that were scattered on the floor, and walked into the kitchen.

"I wish for the area to be as familiar as possible for you," the god explained, setting the four year old down in a chair, "But this is only a fraction of my home. Perhaps one day you will see the rest of it."

Tsuna nodded, still not sure what to say, and still a little confused.

The god studied him for a moment before nodding to himself.

"Perhaps I should start with the most important thing before letting you ask your own questions," the god mused. "You are the child of Nana Sawada and myself, Apollo, the Truth Speaker, the Oracle, the Healer, and the Light-bringer. You, Tsunayoshi Sawada, are my Child. A Godling as the mortals call you."

Tsuna's eyes widened again, and he stared at the god. "Me?" he whispered, "I have a father?"

Apollo's blue eyes softened, and he nodded, "I will not be there for most of your life, having duties to uphold that are sadly, more important than you and your mother. But all you need do is call for me in a time of trouble and you shall have my support.

"You have many trials that you will go through, My Child. But they will build you up, and allow you to grow to strength that has not been seen for generations. They will show you the way, and guide you to people. People who will become your followers, a mix between your priests and priestesses, and akolouthies. They will follow you to the ends of the earth, and beyond."

"What if I don't want that?" Tsuna asked quietly, "What if I just want some friends?"

Apollo blinked, and smiled at him again, "I can see why Prometheus's fire burns so brightly in you. They shall be all that and more if the visions from Delphi come to pass."

Tsuna beamed up at his Father, and the god continued, "Now I believe that you will have some questions."

Tsuna furrowed his brow as he tried to think, tried to decide what would clear up his life the most. He spent a moment thinking, and Apollo sat across from him as patient as the sun that he guided.

"What am I?" Tsuna finally asked, deciding that that question would most likely give him the most answers.

"A wonderful question My Child," Apollo praised. "You are something that the mortals have many names for. A Demigod, a Halfling, a Godling. One who has the blood of both mortal and immortal running through you. To me, you are simply another one of my children. To them, you are someone to be feared and hunted down."

"But why?" Tsuna asked, "I haven't done anything to them."

Apollo's stormy blue eyes seemed to fade, shifting to a white that reflected all in his anger. "Because they are ignorant insects who know not the powers they are messing with," the god hissed, the air crackling with his power, "Because they know not what fates they have cut short, the improvements that would have come about, the families left to grieve because of their jealousy and paranoia."

Apollo took a deep breath and the power in the air faded, but his eyes remained the pure white that decorated the outside of his hall. "Godlings have the blood of an immortal parent, giving them powers beyond what a mortal can imagine. The strength of thirty men, the speed of a cheetah, the intelligence of the fae of old. The ability to use the magic that has long since drained from everywhere except the pantheons."

Tsuna tried to imagine what someone like that could do if they were angry, and shuddered. Godlings, he had heard the whispers, could turn the tide of a war alone, could convince even the most stubborn country leader to change their mind and compromise, could slaughter hundreds bare handed. They were the horror stories that adults passed around to each other in the dark of night.

"But," Apollo said, his voice dropping to a near whisper, "they are caught between two worlds. Their mortal blood cannot handle their immortal powers. You experienced this earlier My Child. A mortal does not have the physical ability to handle the power of the gods, so when ever a Godling uses them it puts a tremendous strain on their body. If you are not careful, you will die.

"However, if you train carefully, you can increase how much power you can expend, and how much time it takes before you body starts to shut down," Apollo continued.

"How did you fix it earlier?" Tsuna asked, thinking about how the pain had simply disappeared.

"Ambrosia," Apollo explained, "The food and drink of the gods. It can help almost any wound on a Godling, and give temporary immortality to a mortal."

"Woah," Tsuna breathed.

Apollo nodded, "I will be giving your mother some for your own safety. Be careful, and do not let the wrong person get a hold of it. It could shake the foundations of society if spread too far."

Tsuan nodded, and Apollo smiled again, "I know you will do your best My Child. Godlings also live unnaturally long lives , they are not immortal in the sense that the gods are, but you will outlive everyone that you love, and for that I am sorry."

Tsuna let out a whimper of sadness, thinking of the group of people that he saw on the way to Olympus. All of those people would grow old and die before he did? Tsuna wasn't sure that he wanted to be a Godling if that's what it meant.

"Then there are the dangers from the mortals," Apollo said, breaking Tsuna from his thoughts. "They will want to lock you away, to use your power, or kill you if they cannot control you. They will sell you to the highest bidder and make a slave of you, breaking you until you are simply a tool at their disposal."

Tsuna shivered.

"This is why, until you are strong enough to stand against them, until you have your Guardians, you must hide, carefully cultivating your mortal and immortal skills for the day they come for you," the god cautioned, "I will not be able to help you if they get a hold of you. Hermes has yet to figure out why."

Tsuna nodded, pale. His mom was already lonely enough with his Father never being able to be home. It would break her heart if Tsuna were to disappear as well, and Tsuna loved his mother to much to put her through that.

"But," Apollo warned, "If you wish to hide the best you can, you must put a damper on your immortal side, which will hinder your talents. It will leave you unbalanced and forever searching for the other half and in pain until you unlock it once more."

"But it will keep me safe?" Tsuna asked.

"Yes, it is the surest way to stay under the radar," Apollo admitted, "Your intelligence will be hindered as well. You really will act like a four year old if you do it."

Tsuna nodded.

"There is one more thing you must know, My Child," Apollo said, "As a Godling you will be possessive. Especially of mortals. We have so little time with them, we treasure what we get, and seek to remove any threats to it. Hestia still will not talk to me because of my encroachment on your mother. Beware of that Sawada Tsunayoshi, that possessiveness will not leave even if your immortal blood is sealed and will be the greatest threat to your goal to stay hidden until the time is right."

Tsuna nodded again, and Apollo ruffled his hair. "You will go far My Child. I simply hope that you can fix the problem that Loki and I have. Unfortunately, my talking to you invalidates the rules of our agreement, so there must be no proof of this, even in your memories. You will not remember most of this come morning. The important details to your survival will stay, but I'm afraid that you will never know how much I truly love you."

Tsuna tried to protest, but his eyelids started to droop.

"Search your dreams My Child," he faintly heard Apollo say, "I have a feeling you will find the beginning of your journey there."

And the darkness claimed him.


	3. Chapter 3

AN- Me: Lookie another chapter of a fic I already started!

Muse Kitty: Meow

Me: What? Me? Be passive aggressive about the fact that you keep giving me story ideas without finishing them? What would ever give you that idea?

Muse Kitty: Meow

Me: What?! No! Don't sic Hibari!Muse on me *Takes off running*

Muse Kitty: Purr

Beta'd by the lovely Pure Red Crane

Disclaimer- I don't own Reborn

Chapter 3

Tsuna bit his lip to keep from crying out as he fell. He managed to catch himself, his hands scraping against the ground and getting cut on the rough concrete. He ignored the cruel laughter from the other kids and carefully picked himself back up. The small warm part of himself that was buried beneath the constant pain scoffed at the bullies and demanded that he show them exactly what he could do.

"You think you're better than us because you're so smart?" one of the bullies sneered.

"N-no!" Tsuna protested as he pulled himself off the ground.

"Don't lie Tsuna," another one snarled. Tsuna winced, backing away from the group.

"You know what I heard," the last one jeered, "the teacher was talking about how he flunked three tests in a row. Tsuna can't do anything right. He's Dame-Tsuna!"

The three of them burst out laughing again, and Tsuna struggled not to cry.

"Awww, look at the cry baby!" they taunted as they caught sight of the wet sheen around his eyes.

 _Punish them for their insolence!_ Part of him roared, and Tsuna flinched back in surprise.

 _No_ , Another just as warm part of him replied calmly, _Too dangerous. Not worth it._

The bullies gave him another shove before leaving while they laughed, and Tsuna curled into a ball against the wall, letting a couple of his tears slip free. He chewed on his bottom lip as he tried to work up the courage to go home in the bruised and scraped condition he was in, and with the failed test burning in his backpack.

He _hated_ being like this, loathed it with every fiber of his being. He knew that if he let the warmth in his center go, he could easily pass every test that the teachers gave him, that he would stop tripping over air, that he could make the bullies leave him alone. But….it wasn't worth it. It wasn't worth the cost of being found out.

He wiped at his eyes, and shakily stood up, taking comfort in the fact that today was the day he could go out into the woods. He had done it once a week, every week since that day three years ago that he woke up to his mother's worried face. She had beamed brilliantly at him, and Tsuna had known why she was worried. He had overworked his immortal blood, but he couldn't remember where he had learned that from….

He walked home shakily, though whether it was from pain or embarrassment he didn't know. Practising his magic tonight would get him one step closer to that tugging in his dreams. He wasn't sure what it was, but he knew, he Saw that it would be important.

He turned down another street, getting closer to his house, ignoring the quiet murmur of the town around him as he thought. He didn't know what was at the other end of his dream but he knew that it was alive in some form, and that it was in a lot of pain. It made him want to reach out and help it, to get rid of whatever was hurting so that it wasn't in pain like he constantly was.

He gripped at his chest out of habit, and hesitated at the door of his house. Tsuna didn't want to worry his mom, but if he stayed out much later it wouldn't matter what he did. Nana didn't worry. She _panicked_ if he wasn't home at the stated time, jumping over worried, skipping past anxious, and flying straight into my-baby-has-been-kidnapped-call-the-police hyperventilation.

The first and only time he had been late, he had walked into her on the floor, sobbing as she yelled into the phone that he was gone. She whirled around to look at him when he walked in, and gathered him up in her arms immediately. He had hugged her back just as tightly, stayed in her sight the rest of the night, and was never late getting home again.

He took a deep breath, and walked in, getting swept up into his mother's arms.

"Tsu-kun!" she cried cheerfully. He relaxed, and hugged her back, feeling the tension in her shoulders leave as it did every day when he walked into the house.

"How was your day?" she asked, ushering him into the kitchen for a snack before he went back outside.

He didn't answer immediately, trying to pick his words carefully. They had to be true, but they couldn't give anything away. It was almost like a game between him and his mother. Tsuna couldn't lie, but he didn't have to tell her anything either.

They had started after he had tripped the first time after his Godling side had been carefully shut away.

"Mou, Tsu-kun, why are you so clumsy?" she had asked, part worried, part teasing.  
"'Cause I'ma sealed Godlin'," his tiny mouth had piped out before he could stop it. Nana had stared in horror at his answer, before scooping him up.

"No, no, Tsu-kun," she had scolded him, "No one needs to know that. It's a secret between Mama and you, alright?"

Tsuna had nodded, but it took time to learn that he had to speak the truth, that the Truth was in his blood. He could twist his words, say things that were true but didn't give anything away, reply with a question of his own, or even just not answer. But he couldn't Lie.

"It was an average day," he said finally, knowing sadly that his average day was filled with bullies and failed tests and tripping over himself.

Nana smiled sadly at him, but her eyes shone with the pride that he hadn't actually given her any information with that response.

"I hope you had some fun," she replied, kissing the top of his head. "Now go. I know you're looking forward to going out to the woods."

Tsuna lit up, but stopped at the doorway, swinging his bag off of his shoulders, and fishing the failed test out of the bag. He held it out slowly, ashamed of how he had done, as Nana took the paper from him. Her eyes glanced through it, her eyes drawn to the large red 10 at the top. Her face fell in disappointment, but also in relief.

A child who failed tests couldn't be a Godling, after all.

"It's alright Tsu-kun," she reassured, "Go have your fun. We'll figure something out when you get back,"

The seven year old nodded, and hurried out the door before his mother decided to be upset at the score he had gotten. All the other adults he knew were upset with it, after all.

He left his backpack behind, heading out towards the edge of town. He walked at a quick pace, though it wasn't fast enough to be anything but a walk. He could feel his excitement grow the closer he got to leaving the town, away from other people. His face grew into a grin, and he picked up his pace, moving faster and faster until he was running.

He left Namimori and disappeared into the trees, relishing in the crunch of branches and dead leaves beneath his feet. He plunged into the brush without a trail, knowing exactly where to go from sheer repetition and one of the warm feelings in his chest telling him when to turn.

He stopped in a clearing, far away from any sort of human contact, but glanced around to make sure that no one was around anyways. Once he was sure he was alone, he took a deep breath, closing his eyes.

Carefully, he reached for the pain in his chest, imagining that it was a chain wrapped around a harp, and unwound it slowly. The pain faded and familiar warmth and strength took it's place. The world became sharper, clearer, the wind that had chilled his skin became nothing to the fire spreading from his center.

He laughed at the feeling of freedom, and took off at a sprint first, knowing that he wouldn't trip when he was almost whole. His hair whipped at his face, and the air bit at his face from the speed, but Tsuna relished in it. He raced for a tree at the opposite end of the clearing, and the last part of him, the one that he couldn't figure out how to unlock whispered what to do.

When he got close enough he planted his foot against the bark, running up the couple of steps his momentum allowed him before flipping back and landing on his feet with a whoop.

His fun had, Tsuna slowed down and sat in the center of the clearing, taking a deep breath and clearing his mind. Once he had settled enough, he focused on the warmth in his center that he could reach and pulled it to the forefront, knowing that if he opened his closed eyes the would be a stormy blue, lighter than they had been when he had first called on his magic when he was four. If he became powerful enough, they could even glow the pure white like the gods eyes did when they used their power.

He opened his eyes to absolute darkness, his focus bending the light away from him and leaving nothing for him to see. He counted in his head, measuring how long he held the spell, and once he hit the six minute mark he let it go, blinking at the sudden rush of light. He knew how much sunlight liked him, but sometimes the lengths it went when he was unsealed was ridiculous. But he smiled proudly, having gotten a full thirty seconds longer than last week.

He stood up, and smiled sadly, taking in one last breath as a full Godling, before carefully sealing his power, slumping over in exhaustion from the effort. He tried to be careful to straddle the line of working himself and overworking himself. He had to use the ambrosia Nana had stocked a few times, but the supply wasn't unlimited, and while pushing himself to the very edge would allow him to progress faster, to be able to protect himself faster, it wasn't worth risking death.

He staggered the way home, flashing a smile at Nana when he saw her hovering by the doorway. She smiled back at him, and helped him up to his bedroom, where he collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep.

* * *

 _Dreaming was weird. Tsuna always knew when he was dreaming, and after looking it up, he knew that he was a lucid dreamer, someone who was aware of and could control his dreams. But he couldn't really control them._

 _Once again he found himself on the same empty road he had been seeing for three years, and he walked forward, something tugging him forward. Then for the first time, it was something other than flat asphalt below a black sky. The road split into seven different directions, and Tsuna stopped at the crossroads. Each one was topped with a different symbol that Tsuna couldn't recognize because of how far away he was from the signs that held them._

 _The tugging stopped and it seemed that he had finally reached his destination and could choose which way to go, but…_

 _The warmth that reminded him of fire instead of sunlight whispered,_ That one, _and so Tsuna went, turning down the road that reminded him of Mist._


	4. Chapter 4

AN- Me: *Collapse on the ground* I think I'm safe

Hibari!muse: I heard something about the stupid pineapple herbivore.

Me: *Screeches* No! Despite what some reviewers thought, it's just Chrome!

Hibari!Muse: Hn.

Muse Kitty: Meow

Me: I hate you some days.

Many thanks to the Pure Red Crane for Beta-ing!

Disclaimer- I don't own Reborn.

Chapter 4

 _He walked for what felt like several minutes, the road and everything thing around him obscured by the swirling mist. It thicken gradually, until it was simply blind faith in having a road beneath his feet and that there was something worth it at the end of his travels that kept him moving forward. Slowly, an outline began to emerge, and Tsuna's eyes widened at the size of the house that appeared before him._

 _It was easily a mansion, looming ominously above him, with darkened and shuttered windows that closed it off. The paint looked brand new, and it was obviously well cared for, but something about it put Tsuna on edge._

 _Still the fire in him urged him forward so he stepped up to the door, and hesitantly knocked, ignoring the knocker in order to simply use his fist. He stepped back and waited, letting his eyes wander. His focus narrowed down to the small path that led to the side of the house. If the house felt ominous than this path was screaming to stay away from it._

 _The door creaked open, and Tsuna turned to meet purple eyes. The girl in front of him only peaked out the door, and blinked at him, her purple hair falling around her in waves._ _Her eyes widened and the door was thrown open wide._

" _You're here!" she cried, and threw herself at him, wrapping him up in a hug while the force of it sent the two of them careening back._

" _You're real!" she sobbed into his chest as Tsuna sat up, thoroughly confused. She babble almost hysterically, and Tsuna pulled her closer to him on instinct, feeling a smile tug at his lips. "You'rerealyou'rerealyou'rereal."_

" _I'm here, Chrome," Tsuna whispered into her hair. He didn't know how he knew her name, or why, all that mattered was the feeling of_ right _he got from her, and the sunlight and fire in him rushed forward to claim her as_ his _. "I'm here now. I'm real."_

* * *

Tsuna sat in class, tapping his fingers against the desk as he stared out the window. He had long given up understanding anything in class as long as he buried his immortal blood. There was no point in trying when he was physically incapable of learning it. Hie eyes flickered over to Yamamoto Takeshi, the other boy sitting near the front of the class as opposed to the back like Tsuna.

Tsuna couldn't help but study the other boy, the fire in him whispering that he should go talk to him. He shook his head of the thought, glancing out the window again. Yamamoto would never want to talk to him, even though Tsuna had never known the fire to be wrong. He grit his teeth against the feeling that was pushing against him. He knew that the Yamamoto had lost his mother recently, something that Tsuna never wanted to contemplate himself, and that the normally cheerful boy was feeling down.

His anger and frustration grew as Yamamoto's 'friends' continued to talk and joke around him as if nothing had happened simply because Yamamoto smiled and laughed along. The fire was roaring at him, and he twitched against the instinctive urge to get up and storm over to Yamamoto's desk. Couldn't they see how fake his smile was?

He gave in, standing up and storming out the door even though the next teacher would be there any moment. The fire was still nagging him, and even the sunlight had joined in, insisting that he claim the other boy and protect him from the people that were obviously trying to use him for his popularity.

Tsuna thought that he heard one of his classmates comment about how Dame-Tsuna had obviously given up on trying for the day, and laughter chased him out of the room. Yamamoto's fake laughter was even worse than the mocking ones, grating on his ears, and making him pick up his pace.

He needed to get away and hit something before he burst and turned around to drag Yamamoto away from the room.

* * *

 _Tsuna sat at the table in the room, smiling as Chrome talked quietly about what she had learned in class that day. She glanced up shyly at him, and he beamed at her, swinging his legs back and forth underneath the table. The two of them hadn't figured out why Tsuna was so insistent to call her Chrome when her name was Nagi, but they had accepted it as part of the weirdness that encompassed their life._

" _Ano," she said, "Sawada-san?"_

" _Tsuna," he corrected firmly. He wanted her to think of him as an equal since she obviously wasn't thought of that way at home. If he thought too much about her home life though, he would probably lose control and raze the whole town to the ground, getting himself captured for exposing himself in the process._

" _Can- can I tell you something?" she whispered._

" _Of course," he said. He had found that anymore than that cause the girl to clam up. She wasn't sure how to take his kindness, the sunlight whispered to him. So she avoids it keep him from getting upset, the fire added._

 _She glanced away, fiddling with her hands, and he waited patiently._

" _Wh-what do you know about Demigods?" she asked, her already quiet voice dropping to a volume that he had to lean forward to catch what she said. His eyes widened, and he wondered what the look on his face was like when faced with her question._

* * *

Yamamoto had taken to glancing at Tsuna out of the corner of his eyes, and the prickling sensation of being watched was starting to drive the Godling insane. Had it been anyone else in the school Tsuna probably would have managed to brush it off, assuming that the watcher was simply planning on the next place to jump him. But Yamamoto had never physically bullied him, and the jokes and laughter that the popular boy contributed always rang false in a way that made the fire and sunlight part of him roar, bucking against the chains that held them back when he was around others.

They wanted Yamamoto claimed and they wanted him claimed weeks ago. Tsuna had taken to avoid the other boy as much as he could. He couldn't help but recall the vague words about his possessiveness being the most danger to his secret. And as the days wore on, the seven year old felt his control began to fray.

* * *

 _Tsuna felt his mouth twist into a bitter smile, "More than you could guess. Being one does have advantages occasionally."_

 _Chrome's head shot up to look him in the eyes, and his smile turned soft. Trust given was trust received, after all. If she was going to admit it than it was only fair if he did as well._

" _Let's try this again," he said softly in the same tone he had calmed her down with all those weeks ago when they had first met in their dreams. "Hello. My name is Sawada Tsunayoshi, son of Sawada Nana and an unknown god. I can't tell lies and have an affinity towards light, so I can narrow it down a little bit, but until I know which pantheon I come from there can be no way to know for sure."_

" _Chrome," she whispered back, her eyes still wide, "Daughter of Loki."_

* * *

It was Yamamoto who made the first move in the end.

* * *

 _It was like everything was perfect after that._

* * *

Tsuna fought back tears as he pulled himself off the ground, wincing as the movement pulled at his new bruises and scrapes. He didn't get why his life had to basically be split down the middle, with his life as a normal human being nothing but insults and attacks, and his life as a Godling being spending time with his one friend with the constant fear of them being found out hanging over the background.

He wondered if it would have been this way if he had been normal in the end.

At least the school year was almost over and he would be able to slip away from others more often without drawing suspicion. Tsuna limped towards his bag and its scattered contents, the bullies having looked for anything of value they could take after they had finished with Tsuna, and was surprised when another hand picked it up and handed it to him.

His eyes widened at the sight of Yamamoto offering his bag out to him. He took it with shaky hands, afraid to open his mouth. The only thing that would come out of it would most likely be some weird mix of an offer to be friends and a creepy possessive statement about how Yamamoto should stop hanging out with his 'friends' and find one that would actually care about him.

Sometimes Tsuna hated his instincts.

"Maa, maa," Yamamoto said, smiling at him, "That wasn't very nice of them, was it, Sawada-san? Does that happen often?"

Tsuna shook his head as a dangerous glint entered the other seven year old's eyes. All the sunlight could really do was struggle against its bounds, while the fire cackled in triumph in Tsuna's ears. He took that to mean that Yamamoto was going to ask to be friends, and felt his shoulders slump in defeat. He waved at the other boy, and the fake grin turned a little bit more real as Yamamoto fell in step beside him.

"If you say so Sawada-san," the cheerful boy said, and then his eyes cut to Tsuna again. "By the way, would it be weird to ask what you're doing in my dreams?" Tsuna sighed, and wondered how he was going to explain this one.

* * *

" _That's dangerous Tsuna-san," Chrome whispered after he had explained what he had done to hide his Godling status._ _He was proud of the fact that he had managed to wear her down to almost simply calling him by his nickname._ " _You basically split yourself down the middle. You'll never fully master your powers that way."_

 _He nodded, glancing at the way she tightened her grip on the trident she held. It was too big for her, and Tsuna knew that she hadn't thought of it herself but he kept his mouth shut so that the questions she didn't want him to ask remained unasked. He knew what she meant, with the way that he referred to his Godling side as a side at all and as sunlight. It wasn't healthy, but it was what kept him safe._

 _He knew that Chrome simply never left her house. It wasn't like her mother and stepfather cared as long as she could look nice for the next party. Tsuna clamped down on the familiar anger, reminding himself that he had to find a legal way to get her out of the house that was smothering her by the time they were twelve. He had promised himself._

" _I know," was all he said to that, and they dropped the subject._


	5. Chapter 5

A/N- Me: These kids are going to be the death of me.

Muse kitty: Meow

Me: *Cackles* On the bright side, shenanigans are on the horizon.

Muse kitty: Purr

Me: Oh! And for the couple of you who were asking, this is going to be Gen unless it throws a curveball at me.

Disclaimer- I don't own Reborn

Chapter 5

Tsuna sighed, letting his head hit the table as Yamamoto chuckled at him. He didn't know why the other boy thought that Tsuna could actually draw what Chrome looked like, seeing at the baseball player had only known him as Dame-Tsuna. Tsuna didn't know why he had even attempted it. Maybe his new friend's belief in him was paying off, which would only leave the fire even more smug than it had been in the last couple of weeks.

And how strange those weeks had been. Answering Yamamoto's questions about the dreams had been the test of his abilities to tell the Truth, without actually telling the truth.

"Why does it happen?"

"I don't know." Sure, Tsuna had his suspicions and theories, discussed thoroughly with Chrome but no real truth. So he didn't _know_ why it happened. That, and he had ideas of how it happened, but not why.

"Does that mean we're special in some way? Like superheroes or something?"

"Everyone is special Yamamoto-san." Tsuna had to sidestep that question rather than answer it, biting his tongue against his instinctive reaction of, yes, absolutely, they were special, they were children who were going to catch aflame and change the world. The worst part is that he didn't know why he knew that, and the amount of things that he knew without knowing why were starting to grate on him. There were people depending on what he knew now and not being able to fully trust his information put them at risk.

Yamamoto's quasi-interrogation had lasted all the way to the Sawada household, which Tsuna had promptly welcomed the other boy into. Nana had been both thrilled and terrified that Tsuna had brought home a friend. He probably hadn't been as subtle about the bullying as he had hoped, and Nana was ecstatic that he had someone to spend time with now, but she had the same fear that Tsuna did.

The longer Tsuna was around Yamamoto, the more likely his secret would get out.

It made friendship with the budding baseball player a balancing act. Tsuna really did enjoy time with the laid back cheerful boy, but he couldn't tell him the full truth about what was going on in his life. The more people who knew what he was the more danger he, and Chrome by association would be in,

He didn't want to mislead Yamamoto, the small lies stacking up even in the few weeks that they had truly known each other. Tsuna couldn't help but feel like one day they would come toppling down and he would lose the new friend he had gained when that happened. For now though, he would enjoy what he could of the other boy.

"So this is what she looks like?" Yamamoto asked, and Tsuna shook his head.

"No," he pulled his head up from the table and studied the drawing. "For one, she actually looks human, not a- a blob."

Yamamoto laughed, and shoot him a brilliant grin, making every part of Tsuna practically purr with how real and genuine it was compared to his old ones.

"Did you get any part of her right?" Yamamoto asked mildly, not really meaning anything by the question as he pulled the paper closer to him.

Tsuna glanced at it again, and said softly, "Her eyes."

Windows to the soul, his sunlight whispered, the most important part of a person. Purple stared up at him as he stared at the paper, and Tsuna wondered what Chrome was doing right then, alone and neglected in that huge mansion.

The door of the library they were staying in, clattered open, the two of them glanced at in in tandem. Tsuna shrunk a little bit deeper into the corner, and Yamamoto's grin turned sharp and strained at the sight of the older boys who walked in with boisterous laughter. The librarian tried to shush them, but she was brushed off.

"I know you flunked that test, but look on the bright side," one of them told the one in the middle, "You could be doing as badly as I've heard Dame-Tsuna has been."

Yamamoto's eyes sharpened so they matched his smile, and Tsuna had to reach out and grab the other boy to keep him from vaulting over the table.

"Ha! I wonder how his mom even puts up with him, let alone that other boy I've been told has been seen around him. Then again, the Sawada's could just be useless in general," another one added, and their laughter echoed in Tsuna's ears. He blinked rapidly, reminding himself that his mother loved him, Chrome cared about him, and that he had to keep Yamamoto from trying to murder the older students.

"I wouldn't be surprised if he has to repeat a couple of years," they taunted, laughing again,

He tightened his grip on the other boy, tugging on Yamamoto's arm.

"It's fine," he hissed quietly, and reared back at the angry look he was sent. He pressed on regardless, "Leave it alone, Yamamoto. They're going to talk no matter what you do, and you couldn't take them anyways."

He thought he saw something stormy pass through Yamamoto's eyes before the other boy swept up their stuff and practically dragged Tsuna out of the building and into the sunlight. The grip on his wrist was hilariously reverse, and Tsuna idly wondered if he would have a bruise in the morning from how tight he was being held.

They had barely made it three blocks when Yamamoto whirled on him, cold anger in every movement.

"It's not fine," Yamamoto insisted, and Tsuna blinked in surprise. Was that what Yamamoto was angriest about? "It's never fine for them to talk about you like that Sawada!"

Tsuna shrugged uncomfortably, "It's not like they're wrong."

He thought he heard Yamamoto grind his teeth, as he snapped, "But they are! And this is why you can't say it's fine! Then you start to think like that and-!" Tsuna laid a hand on Yamamoto's arm, practically feeling the anger, frustration, and startling amount of bloodlust from the other eight year old.

"A-and that's why it's fine," Tsuna said, his stutter resurfacing in his nervousness and fear of what he was about to say. He still worried that Yamamoto would walk away even after standing at Tsuna's side everyday for weeks, which was why he still called the other boy by his last name. Something Yamamoto protested by calling Tsuna by his. "B-because you and Mama, and Ch-chrome are there for me, and never l-let me forget my real worth."

Slowly, Yamamoto relaxed and grinned at him again.

"You're right as usual Sawada," the other boy grinned, "Man, how did you get so smart?"

Tsuna blushed, stepping a little bit away from the other boy so they were a more comfortable distance from each other. "I-I really don't think that I'm that smart all the time." Truth, Tsuna only thought he was smart when he let his Godling side out, otherwise he was below average, and it was opinion rather than fact.

"Maa," Yamamoto said with a wave of his hand, "Don't sell yourself short."

The two of them walked for a few minutes, making their way towards Takesushi when Yamamoto spoke up again.

"Say Sawada?" he asked, and Tsuna cut a glance at him. "Do you think Chrome has anyone to remind her of her worth while she's at home?"

Tsuna felt his hands clench at the thought, and stared resolutely in a head, knowing that his silence would be all the answer that Yamamoto needed. One day, Tsuna would get her away from her parents, but it wasn't like he could do anything as young as he was without revealing himself.

Yamamoto cocked his head to the side, and Tsuna felt his stomach sink at the look in the boy's eyes. It was the same look that had been in his eyes when he approached Tsuna.

"Say," Yamamoto mused, "What if we did something about that?"

"What?!" Tsuna screeched, wincing at his own volume. "W-we can't Yamamoto! We could get into big trouble just for leaving town to find her! Let alone show up on her doorstep unannounced! Her parents would hate that!"

Yamamoto nodded, and said way to reasonably, "Then we just have to make sure that her parents don't see us right?"

"That's trespassing!" Tsuna protested, working himself into a panic as he thought about all the ways Yamamoto's idea could go wrong. It was against the law for one, and dangerous if Chrome's parents had any sort of security in place for another.

"Right, you have a point" Yamamoto continued, and Tsuna started to relax before he tried not shriek as Yamamoto continued. "They would find out and make it harder to visit again. We could just bring her here instead."

"That's kidnapping!" Tsuna said weakly, part of him horrified that his friend would even think of it, part of him just mentally screaming, and the last part murmuring about how he had wanted to get Chrome away from her parents somehow and how good it would be to get the girl away from the toxic house.

He took a deep breath, and tried to reason with Yamamoto sensibly instead of just yelling at him.

"We're eight Yamamoto," Tsuna pointed out, "No one is going to let us leave town alone right now, let alone to a place that we know nothing about. And then there's the fact that it would be against the law to bring her here without her parents permission, don't even think about keeping her without running into problems. Where would she stay?"

Tsuna realized his mistake too late as Yamamoto lit up. "She really should just stay in Namimori! That would be awesome!"

Tsuna groaned, wondering if it was possible to talk Yamamoto out of his idea when his friend seemed determined to ignore anything negative against it. He was even skipping over the fact that it was _against the law_.

"We just need someone who is above the law right?" Yamamoto added, and Tsuna simply stopped walking to bury his head in his hands.

"Don't say it, don't say it," he mumbled.

"What do you think Hibari-san is doing for the next couple of days?" Yamamoto wondered out loud, and Tsuna gave into the urge to sob.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N- Me: *Throws this at my readers and runs away*

Muse Kitty: *Yawns, rolls over, falls asleep*

Beta'd by the RedRoseCrane as always

Disclaimer- I still don't own Reborn

Chapter 6

Tsuna reluctantly trailed behind Yamamoto as the other boy ran around the town, looking for someone that most people would go out of their way to avoid. Tsuna, at least, had the sense to know that if he didn't break the rules, Hibari would ignore him. He was useless enough that the terrifying child ignored him out of disinterest. Tsuna doubted that would be the case if he was ever found out. The chaos it would bring to Namimori would be astronomical.

It was part of the reason he was reluctant to go to the bloodthirsty child for help. He knew that if he really wanted Chrome out of that house right away, all he had to do was hint that they were going to visit Namimori and disrupt the town, and Hibari would hunt them down, like a cat slaughtering mice. But Tsuna didn't because…

"Hmmm," Yamamoto mused out loud. "So he wasn't near the shrines, or the shopping district. Dad would kill me if we went near the yakuza controlled territories." He tapped his chin. "I'm not sure where else Hibari-san would be."

Tsuna let out a small heave of breath as he relaxed, and then he tensed again. How did Yamamoto's dad know what areas were yakuza controlled? He rubbed at his forehead and wondered if either of his friends were normal. He wanted to cry at the thought that, because then it might seem like it was too much to ask for to have one normal, average person in his life.

He took a deep breath, and said, "Maybe he doesn't want to be found? He's rarely in class-"

"The school!" Yamamoto interrupted him, and Tsuna realized with horror that the school was, in fact, the most likely place for the terrifying prefect to be. "That's genius Sawada!"

Tsuna groaned, not bothering to dig his feet in when Yamamoto grabbed his wrist and started to enthusiastically drag him back towards the school that he spent so much time avoiding. He didn't need any more reminders of how he was damaged thank you very much.

But he felt a small smile twitch upwards on his lips, betraying how much he actually enjoyed Yamamoto's enthusiasm for all the danger it presented. He couldn't bring himself to say no to his friend, especially since it was to help his first friend, who was someone Yamamoto had never met, let alone talked to. He didn't know if that was a normal reaction from a friend, but he respected Yamamoto even more because of it.

The school's shadow loomed above them, and Tsuna fought the urge to flinch. He thought that Yamamoto noticed anyways since the grip on his wrist tightened. It could have just been the fact that his friend had taken to following Tsuna through the halls to keep the bullies away from him and it had become a habit. Either way, Tsuna did flinch when the grip didn't loosen.

"Oops," Yamamoto said, and dropped his grip, "Sorry Sawada."

Tsuna rubbed at his wrist, but shook his head, "It's fine Yamamoto-san. More importantly, are we even allowed on school grounds this late?"

"Hibari-san's bound to be here, so I assume it is," Yamamoto told him cheerfully. Tsuna wondered if he remembered that Hibari seemed to be the exception to the law most of the time, so it wasn't best to judge based off of him. It confused Tsuna that Yamamoto would one moment know that Hibari was the one they should find when they need help breaking the law, but not realize that breaking the law before that might be a bad idea. He sighed and followed after the other boy anyways. If things got really bad, Tsuna did have a trump card after all.

Even if it ended in his death, he knew he wouldn't hesitate to reveal himself to save Yamamoto.

The hallway tiles of the elementary school echoed beneath their feet, and Tsuna glanced around nervously as Yamamoto cheerfully called out Hibari's name. They wandered for several minutes, criss crossing the halls and classrooms without a glimpse of the prefect.

"M-maybe Hibari-san isn't here?" Tsuna suggested, more than willing to go home. He had told his mother he would be home at a certain time and he was starting to push it. Too much later and he would come home to police officers. Again.

Yamamoto hummed in thought before saying, "I think I know one last place to check!"

Tsuna sighed and followed after his friend, not sure if he wanted Hibari to be there so that they could follow through this insane plan and hopefully get Chrome out of that house, but at the same time, he really didn't want to have to put this plan into action.

Yamamoto threw open a door that Tsuna was fairly certain led into an office and not a classroom. The warmth in him screeched in alarm, and Tsuna tripped in surprise from the sudden warning, trying to fall forward so he could shove Yamamoto out of the way at the same time. The two of them crashed to the floor in a tangle of limbs at the same time a silver tonfa struck the doorway right where Yamamoto's face had been.

Tsuna let out a sigh of relief even as Yamamoto started to laugh, and the two of them helped each other up. Tsuna tried not to wilt under the glare that Hibari sent their way, even as the sunlight and warmth in his bones practically screeched in glee this time. Tsuna wanted to groan. He didn't think that his instincts realized that the less people he spent time with the safer they would be, because they wanted him to claim the glaring boy as well, even if the warmth whispered that this one would take time.

Tsuna wondered if Yamamoto would panic if he just started to cry right there, or if the cheerful and slightly oblivious boy would shrug it off. Maybe he was actually crazy because that would explain all of the people that his subconscious wanted him to hang out with. At least Chrome and Yamamoto pretended to be normal, or at least looked it at first glance. Anyone who saw him with Hibari would question his sanity. No one would question Hibari's partly because that's how you got bitten to death, and partly because there was no question about how sane the prefect was.

"Herbivores," Hibari said shortly, his tonfas still held at the ready. There was a strange gleam in his eyes when he looked at Tsuna. The brunet shivered at it. A flash of disappointment crossed Hibari's eyes and he turned away from him. "What do you want?"

"Well Hibari-senpai,' Yamamoto started cheerfully, stepping into the room fully. "We wanted to ask for your help with something."

Hibari turned to stare at Yamamoto, before his eyes darted to look at Tsuna, a slightly panicked look in them for a sliver of a second. Tsuna could empathize with the prefect. No one had probably willingly asked him for help before, and definitely not someone like Yamamoto. Tsuna tried to send him a reassuring look and a shrug before Yamamoto continued, oblivious to the byplay between them.

"See Sawada has this friend, and from what I hear she's pretty amazing, but her parents aren't the best. So we were going to go visit her, but no one's going to let us go alone at our age, but you run around on your own all the time so we thought we'd ask for your help," Yamamoto half explained, half rambled. Tsuna really did sigh, as the hostile look returned in Hibari's eyes and he started to raised his tonfas once more.

"They abuse her!" Tsuna shouted, half stepping in front of Yamamoto when it looked like HIbari would attack them for wasting his time. Everyone froze.

"They never let her out of her room, only to show her off at parties, and sometimes they forget to feed her, and no one's ever taught her how to really take care of herself, and she thinks that she isn't worth anything, and we just wanted to help!" Tsuna babbled, trying not to look Hibari in the eyes, not wanting to know what was in them. "I just wanted to check up on her, but Yamamoto thinks we should bring her back to Namimori with us, but that's kidnapping, and-"

"Herbivore," Hibari cut in and Tsuna's mouth shut so fast he clipped his tongue. Silence descended, and Tsuna risked glancing up from the bottom of his bangs, wondering what what going through the prefect's head.

He was stunned to see the gleam from before had returned full force, and Hibari's lips twitched like he was fighting an expression other than his usual deadpan. Tsuna's eyes widened. He felt like screaming because his warmth was purring about gaining some respect. It pushed him to make sure that the short lived respect didn't die as fast as it had sprouted.

So Tsuna, in a last ditch attempt to make sure the prefect stayed away from him, blurted out, "But if you don't want to Hibari-senpai, I'm sure that we can figure something out ourselves."

He thought that implying that they didn't need Hibari would insult the prefect and they could all go their own ways once more. Yamamoto might be disappointed that they hadn't helped Chrome immediately, but that would just give them more time to plan something. Tsuna was sure that if they had enough time, they could actually figure out a way without Hibari's help.

But from the way his warmth settled in contentment around him, he hadn't managed that. Hibari swept passed them, his jacket brushing against Tsuna's arm. He exchanged a confused look with Yamamoto who look more bemused than confused, and grinned at him.

"Herbivores," Hibari bit out from the hallway. "Don't slow me down."

Yamamoto cheered, and Tsuna let one sob out before straightening his back and following after them. He wondered why the two of them even thought about listening to him when he was so useless without his Godling powers, but he trailed after them anyways. Yamamoto threw an arm around his shoulders, warm and confident. Tsuna thought that whatever it was, he wasn't going to clue his friend and new friend(?) in on that fact. It wasn't worth it.


End file.
